GIRLS BASKETBALL: Boyertown falls to North Penn in District 1 playback

North Penn’s Vicky Tumasz, 22, races past Boyertown defenders for a basket during second half action of their District 1 Class AAAA playoff contest at North Penn High School on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. (Photo by Mark C. Psoras\The Reporter)

TOWAMENCIN — North Penn’s girls basketball team used some timely offense and stingy defense to move into the next round of the District 1 Class AAAA playoff playbacks.

The Maidens rallied from a sluggish first half to get past a sticky Boyertown, 53-45. North Penn advances to play Central Bucks West, a winner over Pennsbury, on Saturday at home.

Kaitlyn Eisenhard led the Bears with 12 points while Dee Terry and Olivia Cavallo each chipped in with nine apiece.

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Boyertown took over the game in the first half. The Bears ran off the final nine points of the first quarter and took a 13-5 lead into the second period. All five Maidens’ points came on a 3-pointer and a layup by Erin Maher.

North Penn got some offense going in the second quarter, running off 10 straight including another triple from Maher. But the Bears got a streak of their own going, scoring eight in a row and finished with a 23-17 halftime lead.

But the second half was a different story. North Penn must have gotten a fiery halftime talk from head coach Maggie deMarteleire because it came out smoking on offense.

The Maidens made up the halftime deficit with a Jackie Bilotti jumper and a 3-pointer by Vicky Tumasz. After a bucket by Boyertown, Maher hit another trey to tie the score at 25.

A 3-pointer by Boyertown put the Bears back on top but Maher hit a triple and Mikaela Giuliani dropped in a rebound and the Maidens were back on top.

That lead didn’t last long. A true three-point play gave the Bears a 31-30 lead. It would be their last.

North Penn scored six of the final nine points of the period and led 36-34 after three quarters.

The Maidens kept padding their lead. They finished off Boyertown with a 17-17 advantage in the fourth period.

While Maher handled a lot of the offense, Giuliani took care of the defense on Boyertown’s Eisenhard. Eisenhard, who has scored more than 1,300 points in her career, was held largely in check.

Joining Maher in double figures for North Penn was Lauren Crisler and Tumasz with 11 each. Eisenhard was the lone Bear in double figures.